Some are as useful as a GPS device, others aren't that useful but give you something to do when you had nothing planned for the day. Put them all together and they become TIME.com's 2008 picks for the best the Web has to offer

Digital Vaults

Chances are, you won't be poking through the stacks at the National Archives any time soon. But if you want a glimpse of the Federal Government's historical records, Digital Vaults gives you a curated view of 1,200 of the most impressive holdings. That includes gems like Swedish-born Greta Garbo's application to become a U.S. citizen and a document detailing Laura Ingalls Wilder's real-world little house on the prairie. Not looking for anything in particular? Then click on "shuffle records" to see hundreds of photos, documents, maps, artwork, video clips and audio files, dating from the 1800s to the present. Records are cross-linked by media type, time and theme, such as "Army" or "presidents." You can get lost here for hours  dusty, old documents have never looked so good.